Why Does Cat Suddenly Go Crazy?

Though cats are usually sleepy and calm, they may suddenly change their behavior. That’s quite difficult to understand why your pet goes crazy and feels so energetic. Loud mewing, running around the flat and playing during the night are sometimes not only annoying, but also dangerous for health of pet. Let’s find out why cat’s behavior is so difficult and name the reasons why pets may act crazy.

Do dogs and cats behave themselves in different way?

Dogs training has been being popular for a long period. People not only taught their pets, but also learnt typical aspects of their behavior. That is why it’s much easier to understand dog then cat nowadays.

Dogs’ acts include specific gestures of body and face – they are noticeable and understandable. Puppies move their tails and heads or pronounce sounds to show how they feel, what mood they have and what they are waiting for. Usually people understand dogs’ gestures correctly.

Unfortunately, situation with cats is worse. These pets are known to be not so ‘readable’. People often think cats are detached. However, some specialists assure that opinion is wrong. Cats act affectively like dogs do, the problem is that we can’t see or understand their spectrum of emotions.

Mewing and moving tail or head may mean different emotions. The only thing you can be sure of is that cats try to communicate by doing all that stuff.

If owner continues trying to communicate with pet and understand its gesture language, he or she may succeed and learn some typical behavior patterns.

Anyway, there is a necessity to find out the reason when the cat acts crazy. Though some situations are not dangerous at all, other require immediate help of doctor.

Reason 1: Wildness

Both breed and mongrel cats sometimes feel they are wild. Pets start to run around the room, mew without break and do other crazy things. They move faster than usually and then suddenly stop for a short period.

That behavior pattern is called ‘midnight craziness’. It usually happens at night. Cat forgets about sleep – it plays, jumps on bed, tries to wake you up to join to that ‘party’ by touching your legs, arms, face and hair.

The reasons of wildness are different, that is why it’s better to have a consultation with your veterinarian.

Reason 2: Instincts of predator

Cats have been being predators from the very beginning. Home pets also have main predatory instincts. Hunting, fighting with invisible enemy (both small animals and interior elements) and running from dangerous may look like cat is crazy.

Home cats don’t have to hunt their meal – they get food from owners. Pets can’t spend energy naturally, so they start to behave crazy. If you don’t want that to happen suddenly, help your smaller friend. There is a great assortment of special toys – mice, laser sticks and feathers, which can help your cat to free its energy and ‘hunt’ using predatory instincts.

Reason 3: Night instincts

Cats are night animals, so they are more active in the period from evening to morning. Pets act especially crazy if they sleep a lot during the day.

One more reason of night instincts demonstration is… boredom. Cats of many breeds can’t get along without communication and attention. When owner comes home after work in the evening, pet wants to play and behaves a bit crazy. Kittens are the most emotional in that situation.

Reason 4: Elderly age

If the cat is quite old it may have a cognitive dysfunction. Brain of animal is influenced by time, so pet may behave strangely, do different inappropriate things and act unusually in usual situations.

Reason 5: Insects

Sometimes cats behavior themselves strange because of flea bites. Pets feel pain and itch or even have allergy so they try to show the problem by mewing or eliminate unpleasant feeling by scratching.

If you find fleas in your cat’s fur, visit veterinarian and buy special medicine which kills insects. Don’t forget to treat all pets you have to avoid spread of fleas and reinfection. Also clear-out is needed to destroy all marks of insects.

Reason 6: FHS

Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome rarely provokes bad cat’s behavior, but that is a real reason to visit a veterinarian. Swaying of skin on back or biting the area near tail may be signals of FHS.

The main symptom of Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome is irritability after touching your cat’s back. Pet starts to scratch and bite that area, then crazily runs around your flat. Reasons of illness are unknown.

2 Responses

So my wife has wanted to buy a cat for I don’t even know how long so recently I have been trying to do some research. However, the more I research them the more I’m convinced we should never buy a cat. They seem to be very unpredictable.

Some hypotheses explain crazy zoomies. One of them is funny: Your cat is secretly training to become a ninja! More seriously, your cat probably just needs to spend some energy, and quick and crazy is the way to do it in the cat world ! This is why kitten or young cats are more prone to “frapping”. It is actually quite normal for cats to go from a calm and disinterested state to an intense and very active state. This is in fact one of their favorite hunting techniques! The surprise effect works, doesn’t’ it?

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